MATING 



51 



I do not know. It was all so deliberate and done in such 

 a matter-of-fact way, as though it were the ordinary course 

 of procedure. Apparently all concerned were perfectly 

 satisfied with the change, and yet it did not seem either 

 right or in accordance with the general custom of animals. 

 Had the stags not been evenly matched and the number 

 of does in the two herds entirely different, one could 

 readily understand the more powerful stag taking possession 

 of the larger herd. For in the animal world, just as among 

 our own kind, might is right. 



It must not be imagined for a moment that a single stag 

 has undisputed and sole right to a herd of does. In most 

 cases that came before my notice a small herd of from five 

 or six up to about fifteen would be in the charge of at least 

 two stags, usually stags of different ages, the older ones 

 being without doubt the controlling power. In larger herds I 

 have frequently seen fully half a dozen mature stags, to say 

 nothing of a number of yearlings and two-year-olds, whose 

 antics were very amusing to watch. Their indiscretion fre- 

 quently got them into serious trouble when they attempted to 

 make love to a youthful doe and lure her away from the herd. 



On October i6th I had by far my most exciting and 

 interesting day with the Caribou. An account of it 

 will, I trust, give some idea not only of the animals' 

 habits, but of the keen sport which hunting with a 

 camera affords, and show in what way it is superior to 

 the rifle in giving opportunity for animal study. The 

 day was bitterly cold, the wind blowing hard from the 

 northern, snow-covered hills numbed one's hands, so that 

 without gloves manipulating the camera was decidedly 

 difficult, while the alternative of using clumsy gloves placed 

 one equally at a disadvantage. The water-soaked ground 

 was covered with a hard crust of frozen moss, which 



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